Tickets for London are selling fast – and we advise you to book soon elsewhere. Lots more about the show here.

BBC R4’s Front Row came to record us working on Human Cargo. Here’s Jeff, just hours off a flight from Boston, doing some mighty fretwork.

After months of collaborating long distance, it was great to put the show together, in the same room.

This is an ambitious production. After all I’ve learnt on The Transports, and other shows, I’m keen to weave words and music in new ways … so Jeff and I work intuitively, telling stories together.

Plus, believe it or not, there’ll be jokes. In a show about slavery and forced migration, we’ll include music hall, spoons, bones and other japery … and there’s religion too. We’ve got some old gospel songs of journey and redemption, so come prepared to sing along.

New Human Cargo video

I went to Bristol to make a short two-minute film about Human Cargo. Do take a look – and thanks to Kat Macaulay for filming it.

Amazing venues for the tour

This is the actual courtroom in Dorchester, where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were unjustly tried in 1834. And on 13 June it’s the setting for Human Cargo – an ideal venue for Jeff and I to perform stories of transportation, slavery and emigration. They’ve just turned the Shire Hall into a venue/museum after a fab refurb. We can’t wait to play there.

We’re playing other amazing places too. St George’s, Bristol on 17 May has one of Britain’s finest acoustics – and was a church attended by many wealthy slavers. On 13 May we play the lovely Victoria Music Hall in Settle and on 5 June we’re at the Liverpool Phil.

If you know anyone in these places who’d like the show, do let them know. Thanks!

Parallel Lives – bigger than ever

25 different refugee support groups partner us on the Human Cargo tour – one or two in each town – as part of the Parallel Lives project. They’ll be there in the foyer at gigs, so you can learn about the amazing voluntary activity across Britain … collecting clothes for camps overseas … supporting Syrian families as they settle … or giving legal advice to asylum seekers.

At the snazzy new Parallel Lives website you can meet the groups – and see local migration stories I’ve gathered town by town across the country.

Plus, the tour builds up to Refugee Week (18-24 June). This annual celebration of all that migration brings to Britain has become a remarkable array of events around the country. We’re delighted to contribute to it.

In other news…

A Ford salesperson was recently checking over my car as a trade-in for something newer. She was a lot of fun. When we got to the boot, she asked if I had a body in there. The boot opened to reveal a single square box. ‘No, just a head,’ I said. She laughed, then noticed the box had Human Cargo written on it. She nearly jumped out of her skin…

Living by the Sea

Are you going to Sidmouth FolkWeek in August? This seaside festival is always a joy … pasties & beer, swimming in the sea, sessions everywhere, a bit of fishing, and lots of good music. But it will be a bit busier for me this year, for I’m co-creating a show called Living By The Sea, which we’ll perform over two days at the Manor Pavilion. This involves Paul Sartin and Faustus, and a scratch choir, and me telling tales – like a Radio Ballads – with stories and songs all about coastal communities.

That’s it for this monthly dose of news. Do check out my new Facebook page – or keep in touch with Twitter

May and June is such a lovely time in Britain. Enjoy it – and maybe I’ll see you out on the road somewhere.

Best wishes, Matthew

Trust me, cooking’s even more enjoyable when you’re serenaded by Jeff Warner on banjo.